Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Marvel.

First off, reviews.

WarBerserk: First off, thank you for your continued reviews, which not only bring me cause to think, but also remind me that I have returning viewers. I say it again, thank you. As for the review - I can see your point. The thing about Logan's Healing Factor is that, like anything else in comics, is ridiculously inconsistent. For instance, he has been shown to regenerate from being reduced to a skeleton, yet has also been shown to die from a simple beheading, and Daken and X23 have even died by being burnt alive. It is, quite simply up to the author. For me, I am placing him towards the lower end of his personal power - while extremely resilient, he can still be killed, and can lose limbs. As for Patch, Logan never lost his eye then - it was just a particularly stupid disguise. While I cannot confirm, as I haven't been able to get my hands on Age of Apocalypse recently, I cannot find any confirmation that he did indeed grow the hand back, just that he can still extend his signature claws.

michealc100: I have already started writing the chapter where he returns to the Wizarding World (and actually validating a Harry Potter Crossover :P)! The roots begin in chapter 14, and he arrives at Hogwarts in Chapter 15. Something to look forward to!

Chapter 8: Connection

Doctor Kinney sighed with relief at the feral sight before her. She had feared that she would have had to deal with 'Tom' for this session rather than his feral counterpart. While neither would have a particularly positive reaction, she did not trust Tom to refrain from harming him. She hoped that Harry would.

"Good morning, Harry," she greeted. "How are you feeling today?"

He frowned for a moment, thinking. "Not angry."

She sighed. He was improving, but he still wasn't the most introspective. He had a long way to go in his emotional development. Then again, so did Laura. "That's good. Now, I want to ask you to promise me something."

He growled, stance becoming defensive. At least he didn't draw his claws. "Depends."

"I am going to tell you something, and I want you not to attack me," she swallowed.

He frowned, before nodding. "I'll try."

She took a deep breath. "I want to introduce you to Laura today."

His reaction was not what she expected. She expected anger, rage, a fit of violence, maybe. But he didn't respond that way in the slightest.

Harry stumbled backwards, eye wide and unfocused, claws popping out and waving wildly. "NO! NO! Not her!"

"Harry?" she asked.

"I won't do it," he yelled. "She took my eye, she hurt me."

"You're scared," she realised. "She hurt you badly, and you're scared."

"I don't care what you label it!" he growled. "I won't go. I won't let her do it again."

"You know, Tom wanted to kill her," she said. "It's interesting that you have differing reactions."

"Tom is a fool," he growled. "He thinks brains will beat the beast. It won't. I won't let her do it again!"

"I promise you, she won't," Kinney said. "Laura's a lovely girl, really. She wasn't thinking straight - she was under Trig-X!"

"And how can I trust you?" Harry demanded, eye flickering around madly. "You're one of them. You want her to do it again! I won't let you!"

"Harry, please," she begged. "Remember our talks about trust? You need to trust me."

He stilled. "Alright." He paused. "If she attacks, or if Tom attacks, get me out. I won't go through it again."

"I promise," she said.

X

As Harry prepared himself in the entry shaft, he focussed on his breathing. In, out. In, out. It helped, he remembered reading. Helped what, he didn't know. But Kinney had promised. He had to trust her. He thought he did. He didn't know.

"Are you ready, Harry?" she asked him kindly. Or he thought it was kind. He didn't know. She was one of them, after all.

He gave a sharp nod, and he fell to the ground, He landed in a defensive stance, nerves on end as his ears twitched.

A dark shape shifted in the bushes. X23 - no, Laura. Kinney said Laura. He doubted he would have seen her if she hadn't.

"Are you going to attack me?" Laura asked, her feminine rough, yet somehow graceful. It was nice - or he thought it was nice, from his teachings. He still didn't really understand the differences. He could tell anger and boredom and pain and now fear, but the others were too similar, too confusing.

"You gonna hurt me again?" he grunted.

"It is you!" she squealed, a surprising sound to hear from such a feral looking girl. "I thought it was, but I didn't catch your scent last time. I wanted to apologise - they made me, after all. I don't like hurting people."

"So you won't?" he checked. People did things they didn't like all the time.

"No, silly," she said, before frowning. "What, do you think I like killing?"

"You don't?" he asked. He knew Tom liked killing - or was it pain? - and he knew blood made his head fuzzy and good.

"Of course not," she replied, sounding offended. "They made me good at killing, but I don't like it. That's why they have the scent - to make me kill."

"Huh," he grunted. "You're gonna have to learn to like it. They say we're gonna be partners, and a feral beast will call attention."

She wrinkled her nose. "I am not a beast."

"Yes you were," he spat. When had he sheathed his claws? She was dangerous… wasn't she?

"Fine," she huffed. "Ooh, I didn't introduce myself! I'm Laura!"

"I know," he growled.

"Well?" she grunted.

"What?"

"Aren't you going to introduce yourself?"

"Fine," he huffed. "Harry."

"Nice to meet you, Harry," she grinned.

"Is it?" he asked. "I'm still not quite clear on nice. Or happy. Or sad. Or…"

"Yeah, I get that," she interrupted. "Mother tries, but it's hard."

"Mother?" he inquired. "Kinney?"

"Yep, that's me," she smiled. "Laura Kinney."

"Huh."

"So… what are we going to do?"

"Huh?" he grunted in askance.

"Well, if we're going to work together, shouldn't we get to know each other?"

Harry stared at her. "Lady, I've had a personality for all of a month or so."

Laura blinked. "Oh. Was that me?"

"Only thing I'm thankful for," he growled. "So don't push it."

"Well… shall we start exploring your personality?" she asked. "Find out what you like."

"Sparring," he growled.

"Yeah?" she said. "Fists up then, boyo."

He stood hesitantly. "You won't hurt me?"

"Nothing more than a slash," she promised.

X

Kinney came to collect him several hours later. The icy fear had faded by the end of the session, and his anger had subsided. Had he enjoyed it? Maybe. He wasn't quite sure what enjoyment was yet. It was… intoxicating? Yes, intoxicating, in another sense to the scent of blood. He wanted to see her again, to talk to her. He didn't like Kinney, he knew that - he couldn't when he couldn't trust her. But perhaps he liked Laura. That sounded like enjoyment, didn't it?

He allowed the doctor to strap him back into his restraints, ready to be moved back to his cell.

"I'll be with you in a minute," she promised. "I just want to talk with Laura."

Looking back on the memory, he should have known something was wrong. Especially with his loss of an eye, he should have smelt it. He should have warned her.

He didn't know what it was he felt when he heard what happened. But he thought it was guilt.

X

"Hello Laura," Kinney smiled.

"Mother!" she cried jumping in for a hug. Despite her physical age of sixteen - an age that both she and Harry would linger at for several years thanks to their healing factors - she still held many childish tendencies, mainly thanks to her. She could by no means be labelled the ten year old she technically was, but at least she had some elements of childhood.

"So, how was Harry?"

"He seemed sad," Laura replied. "I don't think he understands who he is. He says he is a killer, but no one is just that."

She sighed. "I know. And that's why we'll help him, hmm?"

"Yeah!" she grinned. "I may not recognise my own emotions all the time, but I can help him a bit."

Kinney smiled, stroking her pseudo-daughter's hair. "So you liked him, hmm?"

Laura nodded. "He seems nice. Interesting. I don't think he likes me though."

"Oh?" she asked.

"He seemed on edge the whole time," Laura growled. "And all he wanted to do was spar."

"He is nervous - no one's ever given him reason to trust them," she sighed. "As for the fighting, well, that's all he's ever known."

"Okay," Laura sniffed, body stiffening. "We'll just have to teach him…"

"Laura?" Kinney asked. She didn't respond. "Laura?"

X

The scent. The stench. It was all around her. She had to remove it, destroy it, make it bleed…

X23 stabbed her claws into the stench, screaming at it, hacking at it over and over till the blood poured over the scent, washing it away. And then her mind cleared.

"Mother?" Laura whimpered. "Mother!"

She scooped up mother, cradling her broken form. "M-mother…"

"L-Laura," mother gurgled, throat full of blood. "N-not your fault…"

"Mother?"

"H-help H-harry," she whispered. "A-and T-Tom… h-help him, b-but be careful."

"Mother!" she cried, holding her close. Her breath hitched, then stopped altogether. "Mother…" she sobbed.

X

"It has been done, Director," Ajax reported. "Doctor Kinney was laced with time delayed Trig-X, which has, as of five minutes ago, led X23 to kill her."

"Good," Malcolm smiled. "Continue Weapon M's exposure to X23, though. Doctor Kinney was right on one thing - they will work well together."

"Certainly, director," Ajax said, before pausing. "If I may ask, though… Why terminate her? I understand she has been… a hindrance, but she has been one for a long time. Why now?"

Malcolm sighed. "Her disobedience was tolerable with X23 - Trig-X could override those irritations. But now? Now she has begun to corrupt the Weapon. She even gave the personalities names."

Ajax nodded. "I understand."

Malcolm waved him away. "Go. Find us an excursion for the future. Something suitable to test their partnership."

Ajax nodded again, and left.

X

Laura lay on the grass as she heard the shaft open, not even bothering to hide. She didn't see the point. Mother was gone. Now it was only them.

"Hullo, Harry," she croaked, not moving. Silence. "H-harry?"

She shrieked in pain as a claw pierced her shoulder blade, pinning her to the ground. She may have had a healing factor and a high pain tolerance, but blades still hurt. "Wrong! Harry's taking a nap right now. Shall I take a message?"

She stared up at not-Harry with fear, desperately trying to push him off. "You're hurting me!"

"Good," he growled, stabbing the other shoulder. "You hurt me."

"I apologised," she growled back. "And you forgave me."

"Harry forgave you," he spat. "The scared runt stuck his tail between his legs and made friends with you."

She blinked, pushing him off at long last with stabs to the thighs with her foot claws, allowing her shoulder to heal. She drew her claws.

"You bitch," not-Harry hissed, allowing his bleeding thighs to close up. "You should be thankful that Harry and I don't feel pain - not usually, anyway. But that? That stings. I'm gonna kill you, X23."

"My name's Laura!" she shouted. She winced as she shifted, stance defensive. Remembering mother's last words, she hesitantly spoke up. "T-Tom?"

"Well done," Tom mocked. "You have a brain."

"Mother asked me to help you," she growled. "Both of you."

"Tough shit," he spat. "I don't need your help. You took my eye. Hurt me. What shall I do? Surely you don't need all those fingers. Or shall I take your eye?" He giggled. "We'll match."

A gasp escaped her lips as a hand rose to her eye.

"Or shall I just slit your throat and rip out your fucking spine?"

"Tom, please," she begged. "It was the stench."

"Relax," Tom spat. "I'm not gonna do any of that."

She blinked. "Huh?"

"Don't get me wrong, I should. I know I would love it," he said, a sickening grin across his face, before falling into a grimace. "But Ajax has forbidden it, and I'm not strong enough to disobey him. Not yet, anyway." His grimace suddenly faded away, a cheerful smile across his face. Laura shivered. "Besides, you're interesting. You're a killer, even if you don't like it. I can't watch you slaughter if you're already dead, now can I?"

Laura glared at him. "I'm not a killer," she growled.

"You nearly killed me," Tom replied. "That means you're good. That means you have practice."

"I've killed," she grunted. "But I'm not a killer."

"Tom-ay-to, tom-ah-to," Tom drawled.

"What?" Laura blinked.

"It's a saying," Tom replied. "About a fruit, I think. Never seen one."

She blinked again. "Oh."

"Hmm," Tom murmured, before turning to where he knew a camera would be. "Oi! You lot!" he barked. "How about we get some actual food rather than that slop you give us? We might, I don't know, actually follow your instructions?"

Laura winced. "I don't think they'll like that."

"Sucks to be them," he drawled. "Where's that fighting spirit?"

Her eyes turned downwards. "They killed mother."

Tom blinked. "And?"

"What?" she asked. "They killed mother."

"Good riddance," Tom spat. "She was one of them."

"No she wasn't," Laura glared at him. "She was nice. She helped me."

"She weakened you," he continued. "Made you reliant on emotion." He scoffed. "Like Harry."

"Shut up!" she yelled.

"Make me," he smiled.

She let out a scream of fury, lunging at him with extended claws. All finesse abandoned her, and Tom easily sidestepped the attack, striking her at the centre of her spine, paralysing her.

"Weak," he repeated, heading towards the exit doors, where he knew Ajax would be waiting. He felt an odd pang, deep in his psyche. He dismissed it. Stupid chemicals.

X

"I'm sorry about the doctor," Harry said.

"You don't mean that," Laura spat. "I heard what you said.

Harry shook his head. "I didn't like her. I didn't trust her. But I know you did. So I'm sorry. Tom… Tom doesn't understand that."

Laura didn't answer him.

x

"Harry?"

"Yes, Laura?"

"Have you ever left the facility?"

Harry paused for a moment, thinking. "I guess so. Not since… the incident, but yeah."

"What's it like?" Laura asked, curious.

He thought hard. "Busy. There's a lot more people, all going in different directions, not paying you any attention." He laughed. "Not until you kill someone, anyway."

"Oh," she murmured. "I forgot that that would be why you'd be off site. I suppose you've killed a lot of people."

"I suppose," he said. "Not as many as I have here. And not every time."

"No?" she asked. "What else have you done?"

"Thefts, espionage, sabotage," he listed. "Abductions. Though, the last tends to have some death."

"Do you think… that we'll ever be free?" she asked. "Like, outside, with no-one telling us what to do?"

"Nah," Harry replied. "The facility is powerful. They say we are weapons, and so we are weapons. We aren't strong enough to change that."

"We could be."

He shook his head. "They wouldn't let us."

Laura sighed, before forcing a small smile. "At least we have each other, right?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. It's nice… I think."

Laura laughed. "It is… I think."

X

"Director! Director!"

Malcolm looked up from his files, irritation scrawled across his face. Could he never be free from enthusiastic doctors? "What is it, Perkins?"

"There's been a development, and we don't know how to proceed," the doctor, Perkins, answered.

"And?" Malcolm raised an eyebrow. "I employ you to think, do I not? Solve it yourself."

"Well… I think it's best for you to review it," he said nervously, drawing up a display, showing a pair of blood samples.

"What am I looking at?" Malcolm asked. "Layman's terms."

"Well, Weapon X's X-Gene is unique among mutations, what with how it not only mutates the physical form, but also the mental. While… somewhat limited in the personality known as 'Tom', it can be seen clearly in the one known as 'Harry', and, of course, X23."

Malcolm raised an eyebrow. "Why are you using the late Doctor Kinney's names for the aspects?"

Perkins flushed. "Well, it helps differentiate them, sir."

"Continue."

"Well, the mutation means that neither is entirely human, not quite. They have a far greater tie to instinct and are closer to beasts than most people."

"I do not see the problem."

"Well… nature has a very specific reaction to when it believes something to be an endangered species." Perkins tapped the blood samples. "Both samples contain trace amounts of a pheromone, keyed to the other, and it is increasing."

"Layman's, doctor!" Malcolm barked. Were academics physically incapable of speaking like normal people?

"Well… they are attracted to each other. Sexually," Perkins said embarrassed. "Or, they will be."

"Hmm," Malcolm hummed. "And what do you plan to do about this?"

"A couple of ideas were brought up," he said. "Isolation is an option, halting any further interaction. Sterilisation is an option, as is a neutralising agent to destroy the pheromones."

Malcolm looked aghast. "Why would you do that?"

"I'm sorry, sir?"

Malcolm shook his head. "This is a marvellous opportunity. Truly, splendid!"

"I don't understand," Perkins said, shaking his head. "Surely allowing them to become attached would hinder their field work?"

"We can avoid that," Malcolm scoffed. "But don't you see? Surely, any offspring of the two would be even more powerful! The perfect Weapon, trained since birth!"

"Ah!" Perkins blinked. "So… shall we accelerate the process? Artificially introduce the pheromone at a faster rate?"

"Yes, Perkins," Malcolm said, smiling. "Do that. Immediately."

Parkins nodded, swiftly leaving. He was replaced by Ajax.

"Director," he said sharply.

"Ajax," Malcolm greeted, smiling. "Any news for me?"

"Yes, sir," Ajax said. "I believe I have the perfect excursion for the Weapons. A bounty, paying four million."

"Good, good…" Malcolm murmured. "When?"

"Two weeks, director."

"Perfect," Malcolm smiled, a toothy smile reminiscent of a shark. "Organise what is necessary. Refit Weapon M's arsenal - he should be at the top of his game, hmm?"

Ajax smiled thinly. "As you wish, sir."

Malcolm reclined in his chair. "Soon, my dears, we shall see you for what you are… my perfect creations."

A/N: So, how was that? I'm trying to portray a mix of Laura's childish nature and her feral aspects, but I'm not sure how well I did on the latter. And what about that final revelation, eh? It's just the diabolical sort of thing I can see the Department doing. To clarify, however - the pheromone is a natural reaction to each other. There would have been attraction eventually if they had continued to be exposed to each other. The Department's actions simply accelerate the process.

Sarah's gone... no guidance left. How are they gonna handle their sudden attraction, with neither really understanding it? We shall see.

Next time: the beginning of the end. Oh, this next bit I have enjoyed writing. Oh, yes I have.

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Until next time, this is JaguarAJG, signing off.